Your Most Important Job Working With Data is to Ask Questions

Data work is a consultative process. You should never simply take a request from a stakeholder and execute it without any follow up questions or clarifying conversations. I literally can't think of a single time when I've done that in my entire 30-year career...even when I was the most junior person on a project.

The ability to figure out what your stakeholders actually need will be the difference between disappointing them and delighting them. Good questions lead to clarity, which leads to solutions that actually deliver against real needs. Good questions lead to creativity, nuance, and real insights. The ability to ask good questions of yourself AND your stakeholders is the most important skill you can develop because good questions also expand the conversation, opening up the art of the possible in every situation.

Lesson: Questions in DataViz

In this lesson, I talk a bit more about the kinds of questions you can ask when working with data, and why it's so important to do.

Listen: Questions in DataViz with Neil Richards

In this conversation with Neil Richards , we learn more about his blog and book, both called "Questions in DataViz". We discuss why he chose that title and format for his work developing very creative and unique visualizations for his portfolio, as well as how he applies the same approach in his day-to-day corporate work.

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Learn more about data storytelling and visualization via my other LinkedIn Learning courses